Lacrosse head and lacrosse pocket incorporated therein

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of a stringing arrangement that renders a pocket that combines features of both traditional-style and mesh-style. These embodiments offer a hybrid design that improves the “feel” and “hold” of a ball over current mesh-style pockets with a smoother release of the ball over traditional-style pockets. In one embodiment, the combination utilizes mesh material at the top of the pocket and traditional-style stringing at the bottom of the pocket. Unlike conventional technology, however, the embodiments combine the mesh-style and the traditional-style without disrupting the transition of the ball from the pocket.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/808,999, filed on Apr. 5, 2013 and entitled “LACROSSE POCKET.” The content of this application is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to lacrosse equipment and related technology, with particular discussion about a lacrosse head and pocket that integrates two types of stringing material.

Players in the game of lacrosse use a stick with a shaft and an end, or head, that is configured with a pocket to catch, transport, and deliver a ball. Prior to about 1970, lacrosse sticks were hickory wooden box and field sticks. This construction typically integrates the head with the shaft. These sticks also include leather thongs and braided nylon or polyester laces that were woven onto the head to form the pocket. Over time, and in connection with the rise in popularity of the game, manufacture of lacrosse sticks migrated to molded plastic heads and metal shafts of varying alloys. For the pocket, however, these conventional sticks often incorporate the woven, traditional-style of leather thongs and nylon laces or, alternatively, a single piece of machine-woven nylon mesh.

Pocket construction is of particular importance because the pocket is integral to the fundamental skills of the game. The leaders and lacing of traditional-style pockets, for example, can provide exceptional feel and hold of the ball. These features are important for players to catch and cradle the ball, as well as to retain the ball while the player dodges to evade their opponents. On the other hand, although mesh material provides much less support (than leather leaders and lacing), the mesh-style pockets often have a much smoother release. Player often migrate to mesh-style pockets to improve accuracy for throwing and shooting the ball.

Stringing arrangements exist that deviate from pockets of exclusively the traditional-style and mesh-style. In some cases, the arrangement may combine mesh in between the leather thongs of the traditional-style pocket. Other pockets may combine mesh materials that have different properties (e.g., stiffness). In other examples, the arrangement incorporates peripheral components, e.g., plastic plates and/or inserts, that take the place of part of the pocket in the lacrosse head.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure describes embodiments of a stringing arrangement that renders a pocket that combines features of both traditional-style and mesh-style pockets. These embodiments offer a hybrid design that improves the “feel” and “hold” of a ball over current mesh-style pockets with a smoother release of the ball over traditional-style pockets. In one embodiment, the combination utilizes mesh material at the top of the pocket and traditional-style stringing at the bottom of the pocket. Unlike conventional technology, however, the embodiments proposed below introduce unique features to combine these two technologies without disrupting the transition of the ball from the pocket.

This disclosure describes, in one embodiment, a lacrosse head that comprises a body comprising a peripheral structure circumscribing an opening having an upper portion and a lower portion. The peripheral structure has a base, two sides extending from the base and disposed on either side of a center line of the peripheral structure, and a scoop coupled with the sides and spaced apart from the base. The lacrosse head can also comprise a stringing arrangement disposed in the opening. The stringing arrangement can comprise a mesh member that populates substantially all of the opening in the upper portion, one or more string members forming an interwoven pattern that populates substantially all of the opening in the lower portion, and an interface region in which the mesh member couples with the interwoven pattern.

This disclosure also describes, in one embodiment, a lacrosse head that comprises a body with a peripheral wall circumscribing an opening having a first portion and a second portion. The first portion can comprise a piece of mesh material that populates substantially all of the opening. The second portion can comprise a leader member and a string member configured in an interwoven pattern. The first portion and the second portion terminate at an interface region in which the piece of mesh material couples with the interwoven pattern.

This disclosure further describes, in one embodiment, a stringing arrangement that is configured for use in a lacrosse head. The stringing arrangement comprises a piece of mesh material, a plurality of leader members, and a string member that forms an interwoven pattern that includes the plurality of leader members. The interwoven pattern can couple at a bottom part of the piece of mesh material.

This brief description of the invention is intended only to provide a brief overview of subject matter disclosed herein according to one or more illustrative embodiments, and does not serve as a guide to define or limit the scope of the invention. This brief description is provided to introduce an illustrative selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This brief description is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the invention, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the features of the invention can be understood, a detailed description of the invention may be had by reference to certain embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the drawings illustrate only certain embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the scope of the invention encompasses other equally effective embodiments. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis generally being placed upon illustrating the features of certain embodiments of the invention. In the drawings, like numerals are used to indicate like parts throughout the various views. Thus, for further understanding of the invention, reference can be made to the following detailed description, read in connection with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a stringing arrangement for use on a lacrosse head;

FIG. 2 depicts the stringing arrangement of FIG. 1 with a mesh member disposed therein;

FIG. 3 depicts the stringing arrangement of FIG. 1 with a traditional member disposed therein;

FIG. 4 depicts the stringing arrangement of FIG. 1 with a mesh member and a traditional member disposed therein;

FIG. 5 depicts an elevation view of an exemplary embodiment of a stringing arrangement that includes a transition feature that is useful to tension the mesh member; and

FIG. 6 depicts a detail view of the stringing arrangement of FIG. 5 that shows one configuration for the transition feature.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The discussion below contemplates various stringing arrangements for a lacrosse head that incorporate both mesh material found in mesh-style pockets and nylon lacing and leathers found in traditional-style pockets. This combination offers the benefits of each pocket style, namely the feel and hold of the traditional-style pocket and the smooth release commonly associated with the mesh-style pocket.

FIG. 1 presents a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a stringing arrangement 100 that utilizes this hybrid design. The arrangement 100 couples with a lacrosse head 102 that has a body having a peripheral wall 104 that circumscribes an opening 106 with a first region 108 (also “upper region 108”) and a second region 110 (also “lower region 110”). The peripheral wall 104 has a base 112, a scoop 114, and a pair of sidewalls (e.g., a first sidewall 116 and a second sidewall 118), one each disposed on either side of a longitudinal axis 120 that bisects the body. The stringing arrangement 100 has one or more member components (e.g., a first member 122 and a second member 124) that populate the regions 108, 110 of the opening 106. The stringing arrangement 100 also has an interface 126 at which the members 120, 122 couple with one another.

As noted herein, the stringing arrangement 100 combines different stringing implements together into the hybrid design to form a pocket in the lacrosse head 102. These stringing implements may include, for example, mesh material and stringing material (also, “traditional stringing”). The hybrid design leverages favorable properties of these stringing implements to provide the pocket with characteristics that are robust. Use of the traditional stringing, for example, can improve feel and hold of the ball in the lower region 110, where the ball is likely to reside when the end user traverses the playing field. The mesh material in the upper region 108, on the other hand, improves release of the ball from the pocket that is favorable for passing and shooting.

Configurations of the stringing arrangement 100 separates the pocket into regions having areas that are each less than the total area of the opening 106. These configurations, for example, locate the first member 122 over a first area and the second member 124 over a second area. In one construction, the first area is less than the second area, wherein the first area can cover about 40% or less of the total area of the opening 106. The second area may cover the remaining 60%.

FIG. 2 illustrates the stringing arrangement 100 in a configuration to examine details for an example of the first member 122. As shown in this example, the first member 122 includes a mesh member 128 that can comprise a piece 130 of mesh material. The piece 130 has a plurality of apertures 132 that provide a lattice-style appearance consistent with, in one example, openings/apertures found in conventional mesh material. The piece 130 also has a top 134 and a bottom 136 that extends into the interface 126. In one embodiment, the piece 130 of mesh material is configured to substantially cover all of the upper region 108 of the opening 106. This configuration positions apertures 132 in proximate relation to the scoop 114 and the sides 116, 118 of peripheral wall 104. In one configuration, the piece 130 of mesh material extends about three (3) inches from the scoop 114 towards the base 112.

Examples of the stringing arrangement 100 can also include one or more additional stringing implements that are interwoven through the apertures 132. These stringing elements can secure the piece 130 to the scoop 114 and sidewalls 116, 118 of the lacrosse head 102. In other configurations, the stringing implements can traverse across the opening 106. These transverse implements (also “shooting strings”) are useful to promote accurate and repeatable release of ball from the pocket, e.g., for passing and shooting. Notably, the lattice-style structure of the mesh material arranges the apertures 132 to provide uniform structure that supports and positions the shooting strings in the opening 106. This structure provides reliable and consistent placement of the shooting strings that is of particular advantage in light of contemporary rule changes that limit the number and restrict the arrangement of the shooting strings in the pocket.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom 136 of the piece 130 can extend into the interface 126. This configuration locates apertures 132 in position to couple with the second stringing member 124 (FIG. 1). The connection between the members 122, 124 may take advantage of the stringing implements that make up the second stringing member 124 (FIG. 1). These stringing implements may weave into the piece 130 of mesh material, thereby securing the mesh material in position to form the pocket of the lacrosse head. In other implementations, the stringing arrangement may include a peripheral implement, e.g., a separate string, that secures the first member 122 to the second member 124. This separate string may weave into and/or traverse across the opening 106 to couple the first member 122 with the second member 124.

FIG. 3 illustrates the stringing arrangement 100 in a configuration that focuses on an example of the second member 124. Here, the second member 124 includes a traditional member 138 that can comprise one or more leader members (e.g., a first leader member 140, a second leader member 142, a third leader member 144, and a fourth leader member 146) and one or more string members (e.g., a first string member 148). The leader members 140, 142, 144, 146 can have a leader body 150 with a first end 152 and second end 154 that couple with, respectively, the base 112 and scoop 114 of the head 102. This disclosure does contemplate other designs, however, in which the leader body 150 does not extend from the base 112 to the scoop 114. For example, the second end 154 may reside proximate the interface 126, which permits the leader member to secure to the piece 130 of mesh material (for example, directly and/or via a separate stringing implement contemplated herein). In one configuration, the traditional member 138 assumes an interwoven pattern in which the first string member 148 is woven about the leader members 140, 142, 144, 146. This interwoven pattern can cover substantially all of the lower region 110 of opening 106. In one example, the interwoven pattern may couple with the peripheral wall 104, either directly or by coupling with a sidewall string that is disposed in openings in the peripheral wall 104.

As best shown in FIG. 4, the stringing arrangement 100 can integrate the mesh member 128 and the traditional member 138 to form a pocket on the lacrosse head 102. The pocket includes a transition 156 that defines the areas of the first member 122 and the second member 124 that couple with one another. The transition 156 may include one or more areas that are disposed transversely across the opening 106. The transition 156 can incorporate all or part of the interface 126 where the mesh member 128 and the traditional member 138 couple together.

The embodiments here leverage construction of the stringing arrangement 100 to minimize interference as the ball moves across the transition 156, e.g., from the lower region 110 to the upper region 108. The construction may, for example, result in tension on the piece 130 of mesh material in a direction 158 that is directed generally toward the base 112. This tension may arise from the traditional member 138. For example, in one construction, the string members from the traditional member 138 are woven into the apertures 132 at the bottom 136 of the mesh member 128 in a manner that applies a force onto the mesh member 128. This force can maintain tension on the mesh member 128, drawing the mesh member 128 generally downwardly toward the base 112 to minimize any interference that might otherwise prevail because of the combination of two different styles of stringing materials.

FIGS. 5 and 6 depict an exemplary embodiment of a stringing arrangement 200 to further elaborate on the integration of the mesh member and the traditional member. FIG. 5 provides an elevation view of the lacrosse head 202. The stringing arrangement 200 includes one or more shooting strings 260 and a transition feature 262 at and/or proximate the interface 226. Broadly, the transition feature 262 is useful to apply and/or maintain tension on the mesh member 228, as contemplated herein. Examples of the transition feature 260 can incorporate part of the traditional member 238 and/or, in certain configurations, may comprise a separate component that attaches and/or secures and/or couples with the overall pocket design.

FIG. 6 offers a detail view of the interface 226 to show one particular configuration for the transition feature 260. This view displays the mesh material as hatched and the traditional member as shaded for clarity. In this example, the first string member 248 forms the transition feature 260 in the form of a cross pattern 264 that weaves into one or more of the apertures 232 of the piece 230 of mesh material. The cross pattern 264 in its present form is disposed proximate the longitudinal axis 220; however, this disclosure contemplates other configurations for the cross pattern 264 that may repeat across the opening in the transition region 226 (FIG. 1).

In view of the foregoing, the embodiments proposed herein combine the mesh-style pocket and the traditional style pocket into a hybrid pocket design. Examples of this pocket can come pre-installed on the lacrosse head as part of, for example, stock or custom stringing services. In other implementations, the parts for the stringing arrangement may be packaged as a kit (also “kit of parts”) in which the parts (e.g., the piece of mesh material, the stringing members, the leathers, etc.) are combined in varying levels of integration. For example, the kit may be configured with the mesh member and the traditional member in pre-strung form, requiring only that the end user secure the peripheral edges of the peripheral wall of the lacrosse head. This configuration may integrate certain fastening elements (e.g., hook-and-loop fastener, clips, buttons, snaps, etc.) on one or more parts of the stringing arrangement (e.g., the leader members). These fastening elements can allow for releasable engagement of the pre-strung form to the lacrosse head.

As used herein, an element or function recited in the singular and proceeded with the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding plural said elements or functions, unless such exclusion is explicitly recited. Furthermore, references to “one embodiment” of the claimed invention should not be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A lacrosse head, comprising: a body comprising a peripheral structure circumscribing an opening having an upper portion and a lower portion, the peripheral structure having a base, two sides extending from the base and disposed on either side of a center line of the peripheral structure, and a scoop coupled with the sides and spaced apart from the base; and a stringing arrangement disposed in the opening, the stringing arrangement comprising, a mesh member that populates substantially all of the opening in the upper portion, one or more string members forming an interwoven pattern that populates substantially all of the opening in the lower portion, and an interface region in which the mesh member couples with the interwoven pattern.
 2. The lacrosse head of claim 1, wherein the stringing arrangement is configured to apply tension to the bottom part of the mesh member in the interface region in a direction generally toward the base.
 3. The lacrosse head of claim 1, wherein the one or more string members comprise a first string member that interleaves with a bottom part of the mesh member in the interface region.
 4. The lacrosse head of claim 1, wherein the one or more string members form a tensioning feature proximate the center line of the peripheral frame, and wherein the tensioning feature is configured to apply the tension on the bottom part of the mesh member.
 5. The lacrosse head of claim 4, wherein the tensioning feature comprises one or more string members that form a crossing pattern in the interface region.
 6. The lacrosse head of claim 1, further comprising an elongated member that extends from the base towards the scoop, and wherein the elongated member integrates with the interwoven pattern in the lower portion of the opening.
 7. The lacrosse head of claim 6, wherein the elongated member extends to the scoop, and wherein the elongated member integrates within the mesh member.
 8. The lacrosse head of claim 6, wherein the elongate member comprise a first elongated member and a second elongated member, one each disposed on either side of the center line.
 9. The lacrosse head of claim 1, further comprising a sidewall member that couples the mesh member to the sides of the peripheral frame.
 10. The lacrosse head of claim 1, wherein the mesh member covers 40% or less of the opening.
 11. A lacrosse head, comprising: a body with a peripheral wall circumscribing an opening having a first portion and a second portion; wherein the first portion comprises a piece of mesh material that populates substantially all of the opening, wherein the second portion comprises a leader member and a string member configured in an interwoven pattern, and wherein the first portion and the second portion terminate at an interface region in which the piece of mesh material couples with the interwoven pattern.
 12. The lacrosse head of claim 11, wherein the leader member weaves into the piece of mesh material.
 13. The lacrosse head of claim 11, wherein the string member comprises a first string member that interleaves with the piece of mesh material in an interface region.
 14. The lacrosse head of claim 11, wherein the peripheral wall has a base and a scoop spaced apart from the base, and wherein the leader element couples with the base and the scoop.
 15. The lacrosse head of claim 14, wherein the mesh material is configured under tension in a direction generally toward the base.
 16. A stringing arrangement that is configured for use in a lacrosse head, said stringing arrangement comprising: a piece of mesh material; a plurality of leader members; and a string member that forms an interwoven pattern that includes the plurality of leader members, wherein the interwoven pattern couples at a bottom part of the piece of mesh material.
 17. The stringing arrangement of claim 16, wherein the plurality of leader members weave into the mesh material.
 18. The stringing arrangement of claim 16, wherein the plurality of leader members terminate at the bottom part of the piece of mesh material.
 19. The stringing arrangement of claim 16, wherein the plurality of leader members include one or more leader members that comprise a fastening element that is configured to releaseably secure with the lacrosse head.
 20. The stringing arrangement of claim 16, further comprising a plurality of peripheral string elements that are configured to secure the piece of mesh material and the interwoven pattern to the lacrosse head. 